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THE SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST July 5, 2026 Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto Our Bible readings: Old Testament – Zechariah 9:9-12 Psalm 145:1-14 Epistle – Romans 7:14-25a Gospel – Matthew 11:25-30 The Hymn of the Day: Lutheran Service Book 684 – “Come Unto Me, Ye Weary” The Sermon – ‘Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest’ Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. There are few invitations in all of Scripture more comforting than the words of Jesus in today's Gospel. "Come to Me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Those words have brought comfort to weary Christians for centuries. They’re spoken by the One who knows our sin burden better than we do ourselves. He doesn’t merely acknowledge our struggles. He promises to carry them and give us true rest from our greatest enemies: sin, death, and the devil. Yet before Jesus extends this invitation, He begins with a prayer of thanksgiving to His heavenly Father. "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children." That statement might sound surprising in an age that exalts human expertise. But Jesus is not condemning learning. Rather, He is exposing the danger of pride and self-righteousness. The greatest obstacle to receiving God's kingdom is not ignorance, but the illusion that our knowledge, reason, and ‘good works’ can make us right with our Heavenly Father. The scribes and Pharisees believed themselves wise and righteous. They knew the Scriptures and man-made traditions. They thought they obeyed God’s Law to His standards. Yet they refused to recognize the true Messiah standing before them. Meanwhile, fishermen, tax collectors, and ordinary people who recognized their sin received the kingdom with childlike faith that God had worked within them. That remains true today. God's gifts are received, not achieved. Faith is not the reward for intellectual brilliance. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel. As Martin Luther explains in the explanation to the Third Article of the Creed, "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel." (Luther’s Small Catechism) Jesus' invitation is for poor sinners who recognize they need Him, their Saviour. That brings us to the burdens Jesus describes. "Come to Me, all who labour and are heavy laden." Some may immediately think of the pressures of everyday life. Certainly, those burdens are real. Illness. Financial concerns. Family struggles. Loneliness. Grief. The anxieties that weigh heavily upon the heart. Jesus cares about every one of those burdens. But there is an even deeper burden that lies beneath them all. The crushing weight of sin. The unbearable burden of a guilty conscience, exhausted by trying to justify oneself before God. That burden is vividly described in today's Epistle from Romans. The Apostle Paul speaks with remarkable honesty. "I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing." Every Christian knows this struggle. The old sinful nature continues to fight against the new life given in Baptism. We delight in God's Law, yet we continually fall short. Paul cries out, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" That cry is not one of despair. It’s the cry of faith that knows only Christ can save. Jesus answers Paul's question before it is even asked. "Come to Me." Not, "Improve yourself." Not, "Try harder." Not, "Earn My favour." Simply, "Come to Me." The world offers countless ways to deal with guilt. Ignore it. Explain it away. Blame someone else. Distract yourself. But only Jesus removes it. Only Christ bears our sins upon the cross. Only He declares sinners forgiven. Only Jesus gives true rest. Martin Luther beautifully unfolds these words of our Lord in his Church Postil on Matthew 11: "Christ now says, 'Come to Me, all who labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest'; for you cannot refresh yourselves, you cannot give yourselves rest, but I can." Luther continues: "They want to attain peace of conscience through their own counsels and accomplishments and their own self-chosen ways... Therefore, no matter how much they work, labour, and speculate, they accomplish nothing else except to increase the restlessness of their souls... But one cannot escape it except through knowing the Father and the Son, that is, through knowing the grace and mercy of God which is freely given to us in Christ." How well Luther understood the human heart. Our sinful nature always wants to contribute something toward our salvation. We imagine that if we prayed more fervently, repented more sincerely, served more faithfully, or disciplined ourselves more rigorously, perhaps then we could finally quiet our conscience before God. Yet every attempt to earn God's favour only leaves us wearier than before. That is precisely why Jesus says, "Come to Me." His invitation is not another demand of the Law. It is the sweet promise of the Gospel. He doesn’t tell weary sinners to finish the work. He tells them to come to the One who has already completed it. At the cross, He bore every sin. In His resurrection, He conquered death and rose for our justification. Now He freely gives forgiveness, righteousness, and peace to all who trust in Him. This is the rest that Christ alone can give. No amount of human effort can produce it. It is His gift of grace, received by faith alone. This invitation of Christ is especially precious because it comes from the One who possesses all authority. Jesus says, "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father." The One inviting us is not merely a wise teacher. He is the eternal Son of God. He knows the Father perfectly. And He alone reveals the Father, forgives sins, and opens heaven. Therefore, when He promises rest, His promise cannot fail. The Old Testament reading from Zechariah points us directly to this King. "Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey." What kind of king arrives this way? Not one who comes to conquer by violence. Not one who crushes His enemies beneath His feet. He comes in humility. He comes to bring salvation. He comes to proclaim peace between God and man. His kingdom is established not by force of arms, but by the shedding of His own blood. Zechariah also speaks of "the blood of My covenant." How beautifully that points us to the Lord's Supper. The body and blood sacrificed at Calvary are the body and blood He now gives for the forgiveness of sins. There, once again, He says to weary sinners, "Come to Me." The Psalm appointed for today also beautifully echoes this Gospel. "The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love." "The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down." That is precisely what Jesus does. He lifts those who cannot lift themselves out of sin. He strengthens those whose human strength fails to justify them. He forgives those whose consciences condemn them. He restores those who have wandered. Then Jesus speaks about His yoke. "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me." At first, that sounds like another burden. Yet Christ immediately says, "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." How can that be? Because this is not the crushing yoke of the Law demanding perfection. The believer is joined to Christ. Christ Himself bears the full burden that we could never carry. What He places upon us is the joyful yoke of discipleship, sustained by His grace. Even when the Christian life involves suffering, it is no longer meaningless suffering. It becomes the life of one who follows the crucified and risen Lord. Dear friends, our world is filled with weary people. Many smile outwardly, while inwardly bearing crushing burdens. They are exhausted by fear, grief, and sin. Many are searching everywhere except the one place where true rest is found. The Church has the privilege of proclaiming Christ's invitation. Not mere good advice, nor encouragement. But the Gospel itself. "Come to Me." Every Divine Service is an echo of that invitation. Christ gathers His people. He speaks His Word. He forgives their sins. He feeds us with His own body and blood. Then He sends us back into the world strengthened by His grace. The Christian life is not one long climb toward God. It is a continual returning to Christ. Every day we repent. Every day we hear His absolution. Every day we receive again the rest He freely gives. And one day that promise will reach its complete fulfillment. The burdens of this life will finally end. The struggle Paul describes in Romans will cease forever. Sin will trouble us no more. Death itself will be swallowed up in victory. The rest Christ promises now by faith will become our everlasting joy in His heavenly kingdom. Until that day, His invitation remains. It is spoken to every weary conscience and struggling believer. It is spoken to each one of us. "Come to Me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." In the name of Jesus. Amen.